teelack

Neither sterling or the $US are typical currencies for reasons mentioned in the topic. To get a better perspective look at the Dollars for Australia and New Zealand. Both currencies have tanked by around 25% against the baht in recent years. This is not weakness in either country, more the appreciation of the baht against many currencies. Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

I had a monthly plan but I ate up the data quickly. The one way to handle this (well as far as AIS goes) is that there are regular bolt on packages sent to my phone on almost a daily basis. I keep these and top up with what seems appropriate to my needs. all told in a month I spent an extra 100 baht using this method. As a side issue. During the month I downloaded the AIS app and then got it converted to English. There is a shit load of info on this app that I am just coming to grips with.

Ok I give in. Empress is at the top of Soi 1. Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

Good plan and one that I usually recommend. Take a look at Soi Diana as there are 3 good hotels but a ten minute walk gets you to Soi 10 which is all hotels and of a decent class. (except for the Sawadee!). Soi Honey has a couple of decent places now and slap bang in the middle of the area is the Base. By the way. At the top of Soi 2 are 2 music bars next to each other and they both have bands trying to outdo the other. To add to the mayhem another band was playing flat out across the road at the Big C mall. Don't write the area around Soi 2 off as there are a heap of bars in the vicinity including Drinking Street. Finally, there are 2 quality places on Second and 2. Siam Siam and Sabai Empress. Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

By no means am I saying that you are wrong. Working on the basis that it is 20 years since you have been in Pattaya I wonder if you are aware that this place now stretches from Soi Diana to Soi 15. That's a hell of a lot of construction since you were last in town.

My guess is that the Areca will still have their 990 baht special running and this would be my pick based on the area that you want and what you want to pay.

Thanks for the reply. For us oldies the Euro sign and the Sterling one looks similar.

Just a couple of days ago I was in Pattaya. The rate was 39/40 and certainly not 35. Cherry picking the lowest rate do not make this the rate that you have to buy at. Airport /Travelex rates are not typical. In dozens of trips over many years I have never used one of these second tier exchanges. Typically they are about 10% less than say TT so why would I? Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

I have noted quite a few places with revised signage saying month in minimum however I would assume that like all else this would be a very flexible rule. Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

Just adding to the topic. I took my lady to the top of the bar last night and she was delighted. I ran into a bunch of falang on the Soi afterwards but the 89 baht beer was over the top for them! I have to say that this is a great place to take a lady and in daylight might have the best photo opportunity for the worst cabling cockup in Pattaya. That's saying a lot! Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

BG said it first but I agree. Head held high and revel in the reaction of the old biddies. Half your luck ladies! Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

Just as a matter of interest. I loved this one and was going to make a copy. I usually, when home, join a bunch of guys for a few beers and one of them always starts the day with hoary old chestnuts. The above would be right up his street until I recalled that he had half of one ear removed due to skin cancer! This would have been as uncomfortable as me telling someone of the name Percy when and where it originated according to "1066 and all that". It a bit of a play on King Harold getting the arrow in the eye hence 'Pierce - Eye= Percy' . Only when I got to the explanation did I recall that she indeed only have one eye!. Shit!

As a matter of fact I asked the Thai GF if she would like a repeat performance last night. Not a chance! Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

Great write up and hits many nails on the head. Went to the fireworks but every time I left the bloody things started up again. Three hours of fireworks was 2.50 hours too much. Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

This is turning out to be a great topic. Keep them coming. Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

Why would you want to do that? It is so easy to book one on line. Generally speaking the drivers have done their homework and know where your destination address is. Get a Bangkok driver from upstairs is a pig in a poke. Only did it once and got to see where he lived and where he gassed up before we got underway. I have use either Mr T or more recently PT Taxi. The price is 1100 baht and tip up to you. Your name will be on a sheet of paper at exit 3. Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

Friend of mine has had six so far. He's in his early seventies and is playing 18 holes at least once a week. His quality of life is very good and I hope that can look forward with the same optimism. Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

For quite a while the fare Auckland to Bangkok return was $1750 and I stopped using them despite the fact that it was the only direct flight. Checked today for my preferred dates next month. $1065! That is Thai Air for you. By the way, $NZ. Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

I went looking as well and while I didn't think it was a shit house I did feel that I could do better. I would suggest that anyone interested add this place to your inspection list before making a booking. What it loses in charm could be spot on for location and price. There must be dozens of similar places within a kilometre of it and a couple of hours inspecting some alternatives could be a good idea. Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

I think that this is more your bad luck rather than a bad service . I have used the bus dozens of times and my pick up and (occasional) drop off have never been more than 30 minutes. The other point to remember is that some people are on a budget and need to use the lowest cost method. Don't get me wrong. After 20 plus hours traveling to Pattaya I want a cab and also if I was sharing but say returning from Cambodia or when I am departing Pattaya for overseas it is a great service. Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

Just confirming that there seems to be no problem getting a cab from the airport to Pattaya for 1100 baht and 1000 baht in the other direction. The reality is that you can pay any price you want up to 18000 for Devils Den bus. Up to you. The Bell bus is now 270 baht and that is door to door but you need to book online now. Don't think I can add to that. Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

I agree in general however I took a lady there as did a friend of mine. We both had meals and paid under 100 baht for the two people. The food was OK but for me not hot enough.With exception of the theme and general decor it offers nothing more than Central does. It is also out of the way for a lot of people.

Once again thank you for your continued zaniness. Pier 21. Is this the place where no one goes to? I was there 3 weeks ago and other than that cheap food outlets it was deserted. If I had shares I would be selling them assuming I could find a buyer. Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

I have been working on the above problem and after some trial and error have a couple of methods to handle posting photos using Google Photos. Jacko was the catalyst for sorting this out with his comment that he uses ONE DRIVE. Here is the method. Go to GP, select a photo and double click. It is no good ticking, it needs to be expanded. In this condition right click and go to "Save As...". Save to ONE DRIVE. Open your page in Pattaya Talk and go to the foot of the reply box and click on "choose files". Go to ONE DRIVE and simply drag and drop. By clicking on the + sign you can load to the post and space and position by using the cursor. One thing that I haven't sorted is re-sizing a photo in GP, not that this is really an issue with Pattaya Talk. I still have Picasa installed on my PC and it is also easy enough to use the editing and resizing functions and export to say Starred Photos or wherever and then drag and drop. Picasa has the function of Bulk Editing which is handy if you have a heap of photos to sort out. One other thing about using Picasa is that you can see what you are posting whereas posting straight from ONE DRIVE you only get the photo number information unless you rename photos as you post. I guess that DROP BOX would also work but I haven't got that far yet.

My baggage was lost in late October and I wrote about it extensively in my trip report at the time. There was one major point that I learned after the event. I claimed for taxi fares to go back to the airport a couple of days later when my case eventually arrived. It was Thai Air by the way. Initially my claim for 2200 baht was denied by the losing airline because "Taxi fares are not allowed as part of a claim". The point is that I then learned that International Convention states that it does not matter who lost it (It wasn't Thai) that the final carrier (who was Thai) had a duty to deliver the luggage to wherever was my final destination and in my case, Pattaya. Thai Air however denied that this was the case at the time when I went to see them on arrival. According to Thai Air in NZ they took the matter up with Bangkok to ensure that in future this would not reoccur.